Just a Little Bit of Pixie Dust
by Shabon Flurry
Summary: Peter Pan prequel story. My view of how Peter came to be the mischievous little boy we all know and love, with elements from the novels and some of my added touches. Read and review, no flames.
1. A Magical Place, Faraway from Here

You all know the story of Peter Pan, right? A flying boy who never grew up, and who one day took the Darling siblings to an adventure beyond the stars.

Well, what most of you don't know is that, before Neverland, before the pixie dust, Peter was once a normal child just like them. However, he was quite a dreamer; he believed that everything that he read in fairy tale books was real, and that one day, a fairy would come to him and make him stop growing altogether.

Oh, how right he was.

Now, my friends, let's start all of this from the beginning, so you might be able to know how all of this was tied together.

It all began long ago, at London; the same town in which the famous story involving the Darlings began, but in a different neighborhood. At a house like any other, lived a writer of children's books, named Robert, along with his wife Peony and their 7-year-old son, Peter. One night, Robert was finishing his latest story, as Peter walked into the room to take a look.

"Daddy?"

Robert turned to see his son, clad in green footie pajamas, staring at him with those large brown eyes he got from Peony. "Oh, Petey, there you are." The black-haired man chuckled, picking his son up and placing him on his lap, "I am almost done with my Tinkerbell story."

Peter then tugged on his father's sleeve. "Is it good, daddy?" he asked.

"Oh yes." Robert answered, "It's about a little fairy named Prilla, who arrives at Pixie Hollow and is very different from the others, to the point where she doesn't know what her talent is. However, Tinkerbell tries her best to help her figure it out."

"Daddy?"

"What?"

"Where is Pixie Hollow located?"

Robert then laughed and Peter on his arms, as the two went together to Peter's bedroom. When they got there, Robert placed his son at the small bed, sitting right beside it as he did so. "Well, Petey, Pixie Hollow is a magical land, faraway from here." he pointed towards the open window, more specifically, to one of the two stars that were shining the most.

Peter's eyes shone as he crawled to the other edge of the bed and stared at the star that was at the right. His small arm then raised and stretched, as it trying to reach for it and grasp it.

"Okay, Petey. Now it's time for you to sleep." Robert said, placing Peter back onto the edge of the bed that was close to the wall, and covering his son's body with the bedsheets. He then kissed the boy's forehead and stood up, leaving the room. "Good night."

Watching his father walk away, Peter closed his eyes and fell asleep… only to wake up a few seconds later and run towards the window. Resting his head on his hands, he continued staring at the beloved star. "How would it be like to meet a fairy face-to-face?" he asked himself.

He then placed his hands together and closed his eyes shut, making a wish to the two stars.

_I wish I could meet Tinkerbell… _


	2. There is Such Thing as Magic

The years passed, and while Peter grew up and became a joyful 12-year-old preteen boy, Robert fell ill and slowly became weaker. He tried, as much as he could, to fight the illness, but one day, he couldn't resist anymore, and passed away when Peter was only 10. However, even if two years passed after the event, Peter still believed that everything his father wrote did exist in real life.

And, of course, Tinkerbell and Pixie Hollow were no exception.

The night before Peter's 13th birthday, his mother Peony found something rather interesting among his old toys. It was a doll of a little blonde fairy with large wings made of transparent plastic, wearing a tiny green dress.

"You found Tinkerbell!" Peter ran out of his room and grabbed the doll from his mother's hands, hugging it tight, "I thought I lost her four years ago!"

Peony nodded. "You just left her way too deep in the toy box." she explained before taking her son's hand and leading him back to his room, "Now, Peter, honey, shouldn't you be at bed right now?"

Peter turned towards his mother with a pout. "Mom, I wanna look at the stars like I did long ago with dad!" He exclaimed, before sighing and holding the Tinkerbell plush next to him tight, "Too bad he died… I wonder what would be his reaction if he saw me like this…"

With a laugh, Peony stroked his face with her fingers as they reached Peter's room and she sat him down on his bed. She then took a deep breath and spoke, "Listen. I know that you love your father's stories, but you have to understand. Tinkerbell and Pixie Hollow are not real. One day, you'll forget all of that, grow up for once and become a sensible and responsible adult."

Peter's eyes widened in confusion upon hearing the last sentence. "Wha… What?" he asked, his lower lip trembling.

"Tomorrow, you'll become 13." Peony explained, "The closer you become to adulthood, the less you'll believe in such fantasy things. I already decided to put you in the best schools of London, and… Peter, I want you to form a family of your own."

The redheaded boy remained quiet for a moment before narrowing his eyebrows and letting out his answer to his mother's words.

"No."

He then stood up and walked away from the bed, towards the window as he added, "Mom, I don't wanna grow up, ever." He opened the window slowly, looking at the stars, which were shining as brightly as ever, "My biggest dream is that one day, the fairies from dad's stories arrive here and take me away to Pixie Hollow, where they'll turn me into a fairy and I'll never, ever age."

Peony frowned, wanting to yell at him and ground him for a few weeks, but chose not to. After all, he wasn't ready to take on responsibilities yet. She let out a heavy sigh before walking towards him and placing the green nightcap on his head.

"Peter, there's no such thing as magic. Think about it." she said softly, kissing Peter's forehead at the same spot Robert used to, "Good night."

All Peter did was watch as his mother walked away and turned off the lights of the hallway. "Tinkerbell… Pixie Hollow…" he whispered to himself, hugging his doll and heading towards his bed, laying facefirst on it and beginning to weep silently.

What Peter didn't suspect was a strange shadowy figure watching everything from out of the window. The figure could be identified as a female, with one of her eyes being purple and the other being gold. A small ball of light flew towards her, as the figure gestured to follow her into the bedroom.

The two then soared over the boy, struggling not to make a noise. The figure landed safely on the ground, right in front of the bed, while the ball of light kept soaring over her shoulder. Taking a deep breath, the shadowy figure slowly walked towards Peter, who so far didn't notice her arrival…

Yet.

When he turned his head behind him, his eyes widened as he finally realized there was someone watching him. He yelped as he fell off the bed, his front facing the ceiling. Frightened, Peter backed away from her as she approached him.

"Who-who-who are you?!" he asked.

The girl, now unshadowed, fixed her brown pigtails, which were held together by white daisies. "Peter, relax!" she tried to reason with him.

However, her words fell on deaf ears as Peter held his Tinkerbell doll towards her, as if trying to defend himself. "Stay away from me!" he exclaimed, squeezing his eyes shut.

Taking notice of the doll, the girl smiled and snatched it from him before taking a good look at it and turning to the ball of light. "Hey, Tink! Apparently he made a doll of you!"

When Peter opened his eyes again, he noticed he was being stared at a little glowing fairy who looked exactly like his doll, only more realistic. "No way… Tinkerbell?" he whispered, as he let the fairy, who was none other than the Tinkerbell from his father's stories, land on his finger amd smile at him lovingly.

"Seems like she likes you." the girl floating in front of him smirked.

Peter took his hand away as Tinkerbell flew towards the brown-haired girl, who held out her hand towards him. "My name is Cassidy. I'm a pan, and Tinkerbell here is my sidekick." she introduced herself, gesturing with her other hand towards the fairy.

With a gulp, Peter proceeded to shake hands with her. "How do you know my name?" he wondered.

"I was watching you from outside the window." Cassidy replied, hovering towards him, "So you don't wanna grow up?"

Peter nodded in agreedment, looking down at his feet in grief. Just then, Cassidy grabbed his hand and forced him to stand up as she flew towards the window, taking him with her. "Well then, it's just the right time to come with us!"

The redhead couldn't understand what was going on. "Where are we going?"

"To Neverland!"

"Gesundheit."

Cassidy stopped on her tracks and turned towards him raising an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you never heard of Neverland." she said.

Peter just scratched the back of his head in thought. "I don't remember dad telling me about any Neverland. Only about Pixie Hollow." he answered sheepishly, raising his shoulders as his arm flew back to his side.

"Well, Petey. You should know that Pixie Hollow is located in Neverland." Cassidy explained, "But I think you'll be just fine in Neverland itself. There, your dreams will come true; you'll never grow up. There's also a lot of interesting people, like my troupe, the Lost Boys."

After thinking about it for a while, Peter giggled and turned towards her, a little light of hope shining inside his heart. "I think it'd be kinda fun!" he exclaimed, before he paused and his smile slowly faded into a frown of curiousity, "But… How do we get to Neverland in first place? Dad said it's faraway from here…"

Cassidy just giggled in response, turning her back to him and holding out her hand. "All you have to do is hold onto me. Okay?"

At first hesitant, Peter took Cassidy's hand and hopped onto her back, holding tight onto her. "Are you ready for a ride of your lifetime, Petey?" the pan girl asked, getting a nod from Peter as a response.

"Okay, let's take off!" she exclaimed, finally hopping off the window and taking off into the night, as Peter held onto her, doing his best to not lose his grip, "Here we go!! Off to Neverland!"

Peter let out a gasp as he rode on Cassidy's back and saw London from an angle he has never been at before. It was amazing; he was actually flying through the skies of the town, holding onto a girl he has never seen before, as if he was riding a giant bird or anything of the sort. Just like in Tinkerbell's stories.

Oh, and speaking of Tinkerbell, there she was, lighting the way for Cassidy and Peter as they got closer and closer to the fabled second star to the right.

Peter proceeded to close his eyes for a while, and when he opened them again, he wasn't in London anymore. Now, he and his two female companions were getting closer and closer to an island he has never seen before. This was the Neverland that Cassidy was talking about. Cut off from the rest of everything else, it's a place where it's impossible for kids to grow up, at least if they stay there for too long, and where anything can happen.

Peter's eyes widened in amazement, as Cassidy flew straight towards the island with a grin. "I'll give you a tour of the island later. Now, let's get to my hideout. I'm sure the boys are gonna like you." she told him.

"Oh, I _know_ they will!" Peter replied cheerfully.


	3. Lost and Found in Neverland

Soon enough, Cassidy, Peter and Tinkerbell finally reached the Hangman's Tree, which was Cassidy, Tinkerbell and the Lost Boys' hideout. Upon their entrance, Peter was amazed by how big the place was inside. He slid his hand down the walls; they were made of real wood from the tree.

"Amazing…" he whispered.

Suddenly, he heard childish cheering behind him. He turned around to see six little boys in animal costumes running towards him, as if trying to give him a hug. Frightened once again, Peter tried to avoid them, but it was too late, as the boys were already grasping onto his sweater.

Noticing that Peter was certainly not appreciating the situation, Cassidy stomped her foot to the ground. "Attention!" she exclaimed, making the boys stop harassing Peter, turn towards her and stand like a bunch of soldiers facing their general. Shortly after that, a boy in a grey bunny costume whacked a chubby one wearing a grizzly bear costume.

"Roll call!" Cassidy added.

The boy in the fox costume went first. "I'm Slightly!" he said.

"Nibs!" the one in the bunny costume followed.

"The twins!" two boys in raccoon costumes, who looked exactly like each other, added.

"Owwww… Cubby." the chubby boy in the bear costume groaned, rubbing his sore temples.

Finally, Cassidy held a little boy in a skunk costume on her arms and brought him up to Peter. "And this is Tootles. I don't think you will get a word from him though. He's the youngest, so he can't say anything at all." she told the redhead.

Peter smiled nervously as he sat on the makeshift bear pelt bed. "Oooh, so these are the infamous Lost Boys you've been talking about?" he wondered.

Cassidy nodded in agreedment. "After I stopped growing, during my first trip to the outside world, I found them at an orphanage and they said they wanted to go to a place where they could have fun and games forever. So I brought them here and now they stay here with me." she explained, patting Slightly with a chuckle.

She then turned to the Lost Boys and gestured towards Peter as he removed Tootles from his lap. "Boys, this is a new friend of mine. His name is Peter and he'll be staying here for a while." she told them, "He told me he doesn't want to grow up."

"Ooooh…" the Lost Boys chorused, staring at Peter as if he was an alien or something.

Feeling nervous once again, Peter just let out a sigh. "This is going to be a long day…" he whispered to himself, laying down on the bed, as he heard Cassidy and the Lost Boys' voices talking.

"Say, what if we played treasure hunting?" asked Cassidy, sitting at the makeshift throne.

The Lost Boys cheered loudly in response, making Peter cover his ears with his hands, as he wasn't used to this kind of thing. "I hid it really good this time! You guys will never find it!" Cassidy chuckled, "Not even Tootles, who surprisingly managed to find it last time!"

Peter sat up with a groan as the brown-haired girl got sight of him. "Wanna join us, Pete?" she offered.

The redhead just shook his head in disagreedment, standing up and walking away. "Oh, no! No, Peter! Don't leave!" Nibs called out.

Rolling her eyes, Cassidy flew towards him, pulling him back by the collar of his sweater. "Hey, Cassidy! What are you doing?!" he asked in confusion, as the pan girl put him back onto the bear pelt bed.

"Why, Peter. You just arrived, you can't leave yet." she answered.

The Lost Boys then sat and began watching as Cassidy took Peter's hand once again and he hopped onto her back. "I'll show you around, and soon enough, you'll feel more comfortable with being here." she added, before turning towards the Lost Boys, "Boys, stay here while I'll take Peter here for a tour around Neverland."

With a bright smile on his face, Tootles jumped up and down raising his arms. "No, Tootles, you can't come." Cassidy chuckled, "It's just me, Peter and Tink. Sorry, but you should stay here with the other Lost Boys."

In response, Tootles just frowned as he went towards the others, who just watched as Cassidy and Peter flew out, followed by Tinkerbell and her little trail of pixie dust.

What followed was something amazing for someone like Peter, who heard about magic and fantasy places, but never truly experienced such things. Their first stop was at Mermaid Lagoon, a place surrounded by water, with a couple rocks to rest in without getting wet, at least most of the time. Obviously, there were mermaids, real life mermaids, swimming and relaxing on the water.

"Good afternoon, ladies!" Cassidy greeted as she landed on a pointy rock, Peter and Tinkerbell following after her.

This quickly caught the attention of the mermaids, who all began waving their hands excitedly at her. "Are you having fun so far?" asked the pan girl with a grin.

One of the mermaids, a black-haired one named Shellsea, noticed Peter and glanced at him flirtily. "Hey, Cass, who is the new boy?" Shellsea wondered, "I haven't seen him before, but he looks pretty cute!"

"This is Peter. He just arrived." Cassidy introduced him.

All of the mermaids just giggled like excited teenage schoolgirls. "Finally an eligible bachelor!" a blonde one named Amphirite exclaimed.

Peter's face turned bright red with embarrassment as he hid behind Cassidy. "What's wrong, Pete?" asked the pan girl.

"I'm not very good at talking to girls…"

"Don't worry. You'll get used to it." Cassidy told him, "After all, there are a lot of girls here, but little to no boys that are old enough!"

After spending some time talking to the mermaids, the three decided to leave, and while flying through the island, Peter decided to ask Cassidy some questions. "Hey, Cass. Do you know what are the names of the twin Lost Boys?"

Cassidy shook her head in disagreedment. "They spent so much time over here that even they forgot." she answered.

"Oh…"

Suddenly, Peter yelped, noticing that his grip on Cassidy was loosening. Finally, his hands slipped away as he fell to what seemed like iminent death, until Cassidy flew towards him, holding him on her arms bridal-style.

"Are you okay?" she wondered.

The redhead just sighed in relief. "Thanks to you." he answered with a smile.

Sometime after being introduced to everyone at the island, including the indians and the cannibals (the latter group was actually nice enough to not eat the newcomer), they finally got back to the Hangman's Tree, where Cassidy told Peter of all her adventures there with the Lost Boys.

Later, as night fell at the island, Cassidy, Tinkerbell and the Boys were already asleep, while Peter stayed awake, sitting besides Cassidy's hammock as he thought about certain things. Soon enough, the pan girl woke up when she felt the redheaded boy pinching her.

"What is it, Petey?"

"Say, Cass. Do you guys have any enemies?"

Cassidy just sighed in response as she let her hair down and placed the daisies she used as scrunchies in the little nook where Tinkerbell slept at. "Unfortunately, no. That makes life here kinda boring, since all we do here is play around and go treasure hunting." she replied, playing with a strand of her hair.

Laying down on the hammock besides her, Peter removed his nightcap and placed it under his sweater with a yawn. "Okay, if that's what you think about it… Good night, Cassidy…" he whispered before falling asleep.

Cassidy just turned to notice him sleeping peacefully and holding her hand. She just smiled warmly as she proceeded to go back into her own personal slumberland.

However, all that peace was soon going to be disrupted…


	4. Until Death Do Them Part

The next day, an unfamiliar tune instantly woke Peter and Cassidy up from their sleep; it was hard to hear since they were far from the source of the song. "Hey, Cass, are you hearing something?" Peter asked.

The pan girl put a hand to her ear so she would hear it more closely. After humming for a while, she grabbed Peter's hand as they flew out of the Hangman's Tree to find out what was going on. Once they were right above the forest, Peter's eyes widened as he saw something on the ocean that wasn't there before.

A pirate ship. A real pirate ship.

The redhead was amazed. Cassidy never told him about such thing, let alone his own father. He only knew about the pirates he used to read about in adventure books, history books and the like, and unlike the stories about Pixie Hollow, these were pretty much real, but he never got a chance to see one in real life until that moment.

He then turned to notice an impish smirk adorning Cassidy's lips. "Cass, what are you…?"

All she did was fly towards the ship, with him still holding onto her, as she apparently wanted to take a closer look at the newcomers. Finally, when they reached the ship, they hid behind the deck, not wanting to be spotted by the pirates. Peter was just speechless; there were real pirates, with peg legs, glass eyes, eyepatches, and everything that a real buccaneer would have. It was amazing.

Cassidy then nudged him and pointed towards one of the pirates, who was just entering the deck. They could tell this one was the captain, as he was dressed in a finer way than the others, complete with a giant hat with an equally big plume on it.

_A real pirate captain…_ Peter thought, his eyes shining like brown citrine gems.

"I knew it." Cassidy whispered, pointing towards the pirate with the giant hat, "I knew he would show up sooner or later."

Peter was dumbfounded at her remark. "You know him?" he asked.

Cassidy nodded in response. "I've heard about him before. That is Captain James Hook. He was once the first mate to Blackbeard, but later became captain of his own pirate ship, the Jolly Roger, in which we are right now." she explained, "From what I've heard, he attended Eton College before becoming a pirate and is obsessed with 'good form'."

Peter's eyes traveled around Hook before turning back to Cassidy in confusion. "Where is the hook?" the redheaded boy asked, "I don't see any hooks."

The pan girl just shrugged in response. "To be frank, I don't know either, but rumors say it's because his mom had two hooks for hands." she added with a sly wink.

"Ewww…" Peter squeaked in disgust, just from thinking of someone who actually had hooks for hands. To him, that would certainly be disgusting.

He then noticed that Cassidy was slowly crawling away from him, flying towards the sail of the Jolly Roger with an evil smirk upon her lips. "Cass, what are you going to do?" he asked with a gulp.

"Peter!" Cassidy called silently, "Watch this!"

She then flew behind the sail and made two holes on it, so that her eyes could be visible from behind it. Her eyes zoomed around the ship, glancing at every single pirate on deck, including Hook and his first mate, Smee. Snickering silently, she took out her panpipes and began playing a creepy-sounding tune that made Smee jump up and cluch Hook's coat.

"What do ye want, Smee?" Hook asked in annoyance, turning towards his first mate and glaring at him.

Shivering, Smee pointed towards the sail, as Cassidy kept playing her song. "There's a ghost in the ship, captain!" the tubby man exclaimed in fright. Watching all of that, Peter giggled silently, enjoying the moment, but not wanting to be noticed.

Hook was suspicious about this. "A ghost, heh?"

Cassidy then ripped the sail open and flew out with an ear-to-ear-grin stamped on her face. "And a very lively one at that rate! Ha-hah!" she exclaimed.

As he noticed her, Hook's eyes widened and his eyebrows narrowed. Because of his sad and troubled childhood, he absolutely hated all these cheerful children he came across, particularly the ones with a huge, fertile imagination. "Blast that little girl!" he shouted, pointing towards her with his fleuret.

The pirates readied their cannons and shot at Cassidy, but she was swift enough to dodge all the cannonballs. "Can't catch me, you codfish!" she laughed.

Flying towards where Peter was, she grasped his hand tight. "Quick, before he notices you're here too!" she told him, pulling the boy close once again as they flew around the ship, Peter holding on for dear life.

"Hey, why did you call him a codfish?" he asked.

"Childhood trauma." Cassidy explained, "Ever since he was a child, Hook was mocked for having a scaredy cat side. Hence the whole codfish thing, or at least so I've heard." She then smiled as she got an idea, "Hey, I have an idea. Stay here while I teach those meddling pirates a lesson."

She then threw the boy towards the mast; he landed on his feet as he watched Cassidy take a random dagger from nowhere and fight the pirates. Climbing up the mast to get a better view of the scene, he whispered hopefully, "_Go, Cass… You can do it…_"

Finally, after some minutes of battling, Cassidy and Hook were face to face, standing on the plank, as Hook held his fleuret close to Cassidy's face. "You'll pay for ruining the peacefulness of me ship!" the pirate captain exclaimed.

Noticing that his friend was in danger, Peter shouted out loud, "HEY! CODFISH!"

With that, he got the attention of the pirates, including Hook, as they all turned towards him. It was all intentional though; more exactly, a plan to save Cassidy from iminent death. "Why have a girl when there's a boy, an even more worthy opponent, right here?" the redheaded boy asked mockingly and blew a raspberry at the pirates.

That made Hook even madder than before. "Kill that boy!" he ordered.

In no time, some of the pirates went towards the mast and climbed up; in response, Peter climbed all the way towards the sail and towards its right side (the same side where he and Cassidy were peeking at the pirates earlier) as the pirates chased after him.

Peter gulped frightfully as the pirates pointed their swords towards him, all of them smirking evily. It was reasonable for him, until he noticed that Hook and Smee were pointing a cannon at him. "Fire away, Smee!" Hook commanded.

"Yes, captain!" the tubby first mate said and saluted as he took a match and lit the fuse of the cannon.

Cassidy gasped upon seeing this. Peter put his hands together, shut his eyes and started praying. "_It's not the end, Peter…_" he whispered to himself, "_It's not the end!_"

Finally, the cannon shot out, not one, but three huge black cannonballs, that could kill someone right away. At the last second, Cassidy flew in and…

**BOOM!**

* * *

"Cassidy…! Cass, wake up!"

Sometime later, an unconscious Cassidy slowly opened her eyes as she regained her senses. Her vision was blurry, but she could tell she was back at the Hangman's Tree, laid down on the bear pelt bed, as Peter and Tinkerbell looked down at her in worry, with the Lost Boys surrounding them. Turns out that, after she was hit, Peter took a random boat from Hook's ship and rowed with her to the mainland.

Cassidy's body was currently covered with wounds and bruises, there was blood all over her, and she was bleeding from the mouth; that was from her fight with the pirates, plus the moment when the cannonball hit her, plus the crash afterwards. In short, she was suffering from severe blood loss.

"Oh, thanks goodness you're… well, sort of okay…" Peter said in relief, grasping the pan girl's hand, "I was so worried!"

Cassidy sighed and nodded weakly in response. "Me too, Peter…" she replied, but her voice was so faint it was almost a whisper, "But I'm not feeling so well… It's cold over here…"

Peter took deep breaths of worry as Slightly took out a thermometer and placed it under Cassidy's arm. After several seconds, the fox Lost Boy took the thermometer out and stared at it; it turned out Cassidy's body temperature was low, very low. That, plus the blood loss, could only mean one thing.

She was going to die sooner or later.

Peter's eyes watered up as he gripped Cassidy's hand tighter and Tinkerbell floated next to him. "Cass, please! Don't die! It's been only a day!" he shouted desperately, tears running out of his eyes and down his cheeks.

Cassidy just coughed in response as she stared at him softly with those lovely heterochromatic eyes. "It's not just a day, Peter…" she said, "Even if I die, I'll always be watching over you, everything you do… At least I'm happy for making your dreams come true…"

As Peter wiped away his tears, Cassidy turned towards Tinkerbell and, with her free hand, removed the red feather she wore on her hair. "Tink…" she told the blonde pixie, giving her the precious feather, "Find a new leader for the Lost Boys… Because I can't keep up anymore…" Holding the feather on her hands, Tinkerbell nodded slowly with a frown.

Peter was already in tears, kneeling down so that he would get a better view of the dying pan girl. "Don't leave… Please…" he whispered, staring into her eyes.

All Cassidy did was sigh heavily and look back, as a single tear ran out of her gold eye. "I have to, Peter…" she said, her voice becoming fainter and fainted with each word, "Farewell… My dearest friend…"

With that, her hand slipped away from Peter's grip and her eyes closed as she passed away, a smile still stamping her heavenly face. It was official: she was gone. And there was nothing anyone could do to bring her back.

Peter covered his mouth with his hands, not believing in what he just saw. "Oh, no… No…" he whispered before burying his face in the leafy surface of the top of her dress, staining his face with her blood as he did so.

Most of the Lost Boys only bit their lower lips or shedded a few tears, while Cubby couldn't help but bawl like a baby, holding onto Nibs and wiping the tears on the long ears of the rabbit Lost Boy's costume, much to Nibs' annoyance. On the other hand, Tinkerbell just lowered and shook her head slowly before flying out of the tree to warn the rest of Neverland about Cassidy's death, spreading a trail of pixie dust behind her.


	5. Finding the Leader Within

That night, the Second Star to the Right did not shine.

Excluding the pirates, who were too busy partying like always, everyone in Neverland was mourning Cassidy's passing. At the beach, Lost Boys, indians, mermaids, pixies from Pixie Hollow, all of them gathered to bid their last farewells to the beloved pan girl who was pratically the island's princess and true ruler. After all, everytime she came back from an adventure, Neverland was full of cheer and happiness, but now all of that was gone.

Peter, in front of all the others, was particularly upset about this sudden passing. He approached the makeshift coffin the pixies made for Cassidy and stared at her face for the last time. She looked perfectly serene, like a beautiful angel who came down from Heaven, which would her new home from that day onwards.

"I'll never forget you, Cass." he whispered, wiping a tear that he just shedded, "None of us will."

He then walked back towards the crowd and looked around, watching everyone's reactions. Cubby was still bawling as loud as ever, but stopped when an annoyed Slightly, put a rock in his mouth to shut him up. Tinkerbell, with the feather now strapped to her back, was being comforted by two of her friends from Pixie Hollow, Rosetta and Iridessa. Tigerlily, the princess of the Piccaninny tribe, was sitting down with her legs crossed and also crying, but remaining silent just like the other indians. The mermaids were just sobbing and comforting each other, but Peter could pretty much hear, from where he was, that Shellsea told other mermaid that Cassidy was like a sister to her.

After some time, Peter, aided by the pixies, pushed Cassidy's coffin onto the water, as it floated away for a while until it sinked down into the ocean. As it sunk, everyone, including Peter, bid their last farewells, and began leaving back to their residences; the mermaids swam back to the Mermaid Lagoon, the indians marched away to their tribe, and all the fairies except Tinkerbell flew away to Pixie Hollow, as Tinkerbell herself left with the Lost Boys back to the Hangman's Tree.

Later, at dusk, only Peter was left, looking up at the night sky. Only a few stars were shining, and the moon was full, resembling a large white pearl. Peter ran a hand down his sweater, as his eyes reflected the ever beautiful moonlight in them.

"How am I ever gonna get back home?" he asked himself sadly as he laid down on the sand and fell into the arms of Morpheus, the god of sleep.

* * *

The next day, Peter was awakened by a familiar tinkling bell sound. After sitting up and yawning, he noticed Tinkerbell hovering in front of him with her hands resting on her curvy pixie hips. "What's wrong, Tink?" the redhead asked tiredly.

Tinkerbell just pointed towards the forest before flying into it, with Peter following. They reached the Hangman's Tree, but when entering, the first thing they came across was all the Lost Boys fighting chaotically for some weird reason; they were hitting each other with their makeshift weapons, biting each other, pulling each other's hair, and yelling things that weren't quite easy to understand.

Finally, Peter got what was going on: because of Cassidy's death, the Lost Boys had to choose a new leader, but they all wanted to get the spot. Annoyed by all of that, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "BOYS! **QUIT IT!**"

Instantly, the boys stopped fighting and stood in front of him and Tinkerbell, as if nothing happened. "Tink here was Cassidy's sidekick, thus the second-in-command." the redhead told them, "So she gets to choose who will be the new leader."

Tinkerbell nodded in agreedment, taking a look at everyone else in the room and sitting down on the bed thoughtfully. After a minute or two, a smile crossed the blonde pixie's face as she floated up with her arms spread wide.

"You finally decided it?" Nibs asked in expectation.

"Who's gonna be the new leader?" the Twins wondered in unison.

All Tinkerbell did was fly around the room before stopping next to Peter and gesturing joyfully towards him. Peter himself was dumbfounded at this. "Wait a sec… Me?" He asked in disbelief, his lower lip trembling at the thought of being a leader, "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO! I-I-I was never a good leader! I don't have the potential to it…"

Once again, he started to walk away, but this time Tinkerbell pulled him back and turned him to face her, holding the feather towards him with a pleading look on her eyes. It turned out that the feather was a sign of leadership, hence why Cassidy wore it in first place. She tinkled for a while, explaining to Peter the reason for settling him as the leader and why he needed to wear that feather.

"I understand that she was close to me…" Peter answered, still unsure, "She risked her life to save me from the pirates… And she called me her 'dearest friend' when she died…"

He remembered all the moments he and Cassidy went through together; the flight above London, the tour through Neverland, the slumbertime cuddle, the conflict with the pirates. These were all memories that he would keep in his heart forever. Peter narrowed his eyebrows and frowned, turning towards Tinkerbell and holding his hand towards her. "Gimme that feather, will ya?"

The pixie spun in midair gleefully before giving Peter the feather and watching as he tucked it onto his nightcap. "I'm gonna get my revenge." the redhead said, "Hook will be so doomed next time we see each other."

Tinkerbell then tinkled some more, explaining certain things to Peter. "What do you mean? Practice what?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Uh, Peter… Cassidy wasn't like any other girl in the mainland." Slightly explained, "She could do a lot of things; there was almost nothing that she couldn't do. No one can ever compare to her, but you can practice just for the sake of being like her."

Peter tapped his chin for a while before turning towards Tinkerbell with a smile. "Okay then. Tink, let's get it started!"

* * *

With that, Peter went through a slow and precise metamorphosis, both physically and phsychologically. The next day, Tinkerbell told him the basics of flying and the four mandatory things for doing so: faith, trust, happy thoughts, and most of all, pixie dust. Cassidy was already born in Neverland and grew up with the pixies, so she already knew how to fly. But a normal human like Peter would have to spend some time in Pixie Hollow if he wanted to gain the ability to fly for good.

At first, Peter could barely lift off, but with time, the more he was coated in pixie dust, the higher he could fly, and the more experience and knowledge of the island he got. In no time, he was able to fly around the skies of Neverland like a hawk, with a huge smile of glee stamped onto his face, while Tinkerbell simply struggled to catch up with him.

Sometime after he got the hang of flying, he noticed his physique was changing: he was becoming more well-built and slender, a little taller, and his ears were now pointy and elven-ish. It was just that his body was getting more used to the magic of Neverland, thus he was becoming more of a pan himself.

In fact, Tinkerbell was particularly enjoying these changes, so that day she decided to show him a tunic she made for him out of giant leaves, because in her opinion, that sweater he wore definitely did _not_ suit the natural aspect of Neverland. So the two flew back to the Hangman's Tree to have him try on the outfit, but…

"It's too baggy."

Indeed, the leaf tunic she made for him was a little too baggy on him, still not natural enough. Noticing that, Tinkerbell tapped her chin for a while before getting an idea; she grabbed a pair of scissors she made back when she still lived in Pixie Hollow and began cutting the bottom of the tunic with it.

At first, Peter was confused, but just then he knew what she meant with that. "Good one, Tink!" he exclaimed, "Carry on! It's gonna turn out great!"

* * *

Later, at night, Tinkerbell noticed that Peter wasn't at the hammock or at the bed with the other Lost Boys. She flew out of the tree and flew around for a while until she finally found him sitting at the edge of a cliff, staring at the moon, which was now crescent, smiling widely at him. Tinkerbell just sat on his shoulder, also smiling, as Peter turned towards her confidently.

"Tink… I feel much better now." he whispered, patting her with his finger, as she fell asleep next to him.

What neither of them noticed was that, behind them, at the distance, there was a Scarlet Macaw with a peg leg watching them suspiciously. The bird then flew away into the ocean, with some news to tell its owner…


End file.
